Biz boost; ‘Lion’ 1.1 mil

Broadway Grosses

NEW YORK — A midweek snowstorm didn’t keep auds away from Broadway in Week 38 (Feb. 12-18). The street got its usual jolt from Presidents Day weekend, which sent grosses up to $17.2 million for 28 shows on the boards, up from $14.5 million the prior sesh.

With out-of-towners encouraged by the long weekend to stop by New York and catch a Broadway show, many tourist-fueled perennials saw big increases, including “The Lion King” ($1,122,371), which rose by more than $220,000; “Hairspray” ($603,607), up around $200,000; and “Rent,” ($454,312), climbing more than $180,000.

Newer offerings felt some love, too, with “Tarzan” ($640,900) bringing in $175,000 more than in the prior week and “Spring Awakening” ($625,646) waking up to $110,000 more than in the previous frame.

The only two shows to slide a bit were “Grey Gardens” ($393,912) and “The Vertical Hour” ($287,971).

In its final week, “The Little Dog Laughed” ($240,935) saw a bump of about $50,000.

But another play, “Journey’s End” ($126,005 for seven perfs), continued to have trouble attracting auds. Revival is hoping for strong reviews from this week’s opening to give the box office a bump.

The 23 musicals grossed $15,923,983 for 92.4% of the Broadway total, with attendance of 197,997 at 81.0% capacity.

The five plays grossed $1,305,606 for 7.6% of the Broadway total, with attendance of 23,174 at 63.7% capacity.

Average paid admission was $80.43 for musicals, $56.34 for plays and $77.90 for all shows.